Unfortunately, for decades, Main Street USA has allowed politicians to bathe in their own self-proclaimed glory and have not demanded that they rein in their own lavish salaries, expenses and excesses and actually “work for the people.”

Politicians take credit for things they really did not accomplish and they blame others for their own faults and shortcomings.

It is very difficult, today, to distinguish between the art of politics and the art of deception, art of mis-direction, or sleight of hand. With large PR machines operating, most (if not all) politicians do not utter a word to their target public that has not been polled, i.e., that those people being addressed want to hear.

One party accuses Wall Street for all of America’s woes and miseries (while taking their money for their own campaigns), meanwhile trying to add jobs that will, in reality, only add to the budget deficit.

Another party doesn’t want to raise taxes on the wealthy, meaning that the burden of funding runaway spending by all parties entrenched in Capitol Hill falls, again, upon the middle class.

Both parties continue to append thousands of pieces of pork annually to legislation, adding countless billions to the statospheric national debt.

Add to the scenario that elected officals probably spend half of their time while in office campaigning for their next term.

How is it that politicians who “feel your pain” have no pain of their own to feel? Theirs is a “job” that offers incredible wages, benefits, pensions, spending accounts and more. Have any of them actually slashed their own budgets during this economy? Have they ever even thought about doing so?

Looking to the 2012 presidential election, there is no “good” candidate from any party. And there is really no “lesser of two evils” to choose between.

Exactly what, then, does a voter do?

Hope and pray that, by some chance, a candidate emerges who does not add jobs to the public sector as the “solution” to unemployment (while increasing the private sector’s burden), who knows that balancing a budget requires cutting certain “entitlement” programs, who will flatly deny approving legislation with even one earmark added, who knows that wealthy individuals do not pay an equivalent share of taxes compared to their actual cash income, who understands that increasing the size of government does not make it run more efficiently, who knows with certainty that forcing citizens to purchase healthcare is unconstitutional and not governed by interstate commerce, who will actually make the public sector transparent and accountable, and who knows they are in office only to serve those who elected them, not any special interest.

Then, and only then, will Amercians be able to say that they have found a person who truly deserves to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

As well, only then could the person being sworn in to the nation’s highest office honestly state the oath: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”